The architect of the Greater London Authority has called for a rethink into the role of the mayor's special advisers. Former local government minister Nick Raynsford, who was responsible for the Green and White Papers and legislation setting up the GLA in 1999, writes in The MJ this week: ‘Following the questions that have been raised in recent weeks about the role and influence of these advisers there may well be a case for revisiting the intentions behind the 1999 legislation.' Overall, the GLA and mayoral system has been ‘overwhelmingly positive', but he adds: ‘Clarifying and refining the appointment procedures for the mayor's inner circle of advisers would, in my view, help to reinforce public confidence in the mayoral system.' The 1999 Greater London Authority Act empowered the mayor to appoint two political advisers and up to 10 other ‘specialists.' Specialists were supposed to be hired as experts and, according to Mr Raynsford, ‘indistinguishable from traditional senior public service appointments.' He adds: ‘A clear distinction was made between the two categories which is not much in evidence in the current set-up at City Hall.'
